{"id":338,"date":"2016-04-29T11:31:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T11:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/29\/my-seventeen-books\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T16:27:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:27:14","slug":"my-seventeen-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/29\/my-seventeen-books\/","title":{"rendered":"My Seventeen Books"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"London--book<\/a><\/div>\n

London is a book shopping paradise. \u00a0I bought seventeen books while I was there and I could have easily doubled or tripled that number. \u00a0I had to restrain myself to one or two books per bookshop. \u00a0Yes, we went to a lot of bookshops. \u00a0My husband is a very patient man.<\/p>\n

\"Persephone<\/a><\/div>\n

Let’s start with the bookshop I absolutely was not going to miss. \u00a0Come hell or high water, I was going to Persephone Books. \u00a0I love this shop. \u00a0The books are pretty, the staff is friendly, and I have never bought a book there that I didn’t like. \u00a0Plus, there is a coffee shop conveniently next door for my husband. \u00a0This time I bought:<\/p>\n

The Priory<\/i> by Dorothy Whipple. \u00a0I am slowly making my way through her books. \u00a0I buy one each time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Miss Ranskill Comes Home<\/i> by Barbara Euphan Todd. \u00a0I read a review of it somewhere. \u00a0It sounded funny and is set during WWII. \u00a0Just my type of thing.<\/p>\n

The Fortnight In September<\/i> by RC Sherriff. I was having a hard time picking a third book (it is three books for 30 pounds or 12 pounds each, obviously I was going to buy three) when I overheard one of the staff raving about it on the phone with another indecisive customer. \u00a0Then, when I went to pay another member of the staff told me it was one of her absolute favorites. \u00a0I can’t wait to read it.<\/p>\n

\"London<\/a><\/div>\n

Another charming bookshop full of books I didn’t even know I wanted. \u00a0Though, actually, the book I bought here is one I was looking for. \u00a0I bought A Notable Woman–The romantic journals of Jean Lucey Pratt<\/i>, edited by Simon Garfield. \u00a0I have read all his diary compilations using sources from the Mass Observation Organization and greatly enjoyed them. \u00a0Jean Lucey Pratt was quoted extensively in some of his other volumes. \u00a0I am looking forward to getting to know her better.<\/p>\n

\"Daunt<\/a><\/div>\n

Daunt Books might possibly be the prettiest bookshop I have ever been in. \u00a0It is just gorgeous and full of equally amazing books. \u00a0I bought My Dear Bessie– A Love Story In Letters<\/i>, also edited by Simon Garfield. \u00a0I heard excerpts of it read on the BBC with Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey playing the parts of Chris and Bessie. \u00a0I have wanted to read it ever since.<\/p>\n

Waterstones is a chain like Barnes and Noble is here except it puts Barnes and Noble to shame. \u00a0I can wander around Barnes and Noble and not find anything I really want to buy. \u00a0I think I want to live in Waterstones. \u00a0So many books I want, so hard to choose. \u00a0I bought The Other Elizabeth Taylor<\/i> by Nicola Beauman. \u00a0It is published by Persephone Books and I just did a little Googling and Nicola Beauman is the founder of Persephone Books. \u00a0I didn’t realize that when I bought it, I just was happy I found an interesting book on the clearance rack for one pound.<\/p>\n

\"Southbank<\/a><\/div>\n

The Southbank Book Market is under Waterloo Bridge and I love it. There is something about browsing through row after row of books while being able to glance up and see the river and iconic London sites. \u00a0It makes my heart happy and somehow epitomizes London to me. \u00a0I also love how the noise and commotion of nearby street performers and crowds dies down under the bridge and you just have fellow book lovers meandering up and down the rows, fingers trailing over titles, barely glancing up to dodge around each other. \u00a0We went twice because the first time was late in the day and they were breaking down the tables and putting the books away. \u00a0I bought:<\/p>\n

A Family and a Fortune<\/i> by Ivy Compton-Burnett. \u00a0I have read one other book by her and enjoyed it. Plus, she was mentioned extensively in the diaries of James Lees-Milne that I just read.<\/p>\n

Provincial Daughter<\/i> by R.M. Dashwood. \u00a0I absolutely love the Provincial Lady series. \u00a0This is a continuation by her daughter. \u00a0It could be charming, it could drive me crazy. \u00a0We shall see.<\/p>\n

A London Girl of the 1880s<\/i> \u00a0and A London Home in the 1890s,<\/i> both by M.V. Hughes. \u00a0The first in this series is published by Persephone. \u00a0It was one of the books I kept dithering over in the shop. \u00a0When I found these I really wished I had bought it. \u00a0I snapped these up anyway and came home and found a copy of the first one online.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Hampstead--London\"<\/a><\/div>\n

This little shop in Hampstead was a bit insane. \u00a0It was packed with books and was so crowded with boxes and stacks of books you literally could not walk down some of the aisles. \u00a0I am sure there were lots more treasures in there but I could not see them. \u00a0I craned my neck and edged my way down as many aisles as I could but eventually had to give up. \u00a0I did buy two books- Don’t tell Alfred<\/i> by Nancy Mitford and A View of the Harbour<\/i> by Elizabeth Taylor. \u00a0I found the second one on this lovely shelf of orange Penguins.<\/p>\n

\"Penguin<\/a><\/div>\n

This bookshelf was right by the door and I saw it from the street. \u00a0It is what pulled me in.<\/p>\n

\"Greenwich\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The last few books I found at various charity shops that I popped into as we went about our activities for the day. \u00a0I like the Oxfam bookshops. \u00a0They seem to have such a good selection. \u00a0I bought:<\/p>\n

My Family And Other Animals<\/i> by Gerald Durrell. \u00a0I have only read one book by him. \u00a0Everyone else on earth seems to have read this. \u00a0I thought it was about time I did too.<\/p>\n

The Day We Went To War<\/i> by Terry Charman. \u00a0My fascination with the home front during WWII is well documented on this blog. \u00a0I was pleased to find this.<\/p>\n

The Sleeping Beauty<\/i> by Elizabeth Taylor. \u00a0I automatically buy her books whenever I find one I haven’t read.<\/p>\n

The House by the Thames and the People Who Lived There <\/i>by Gillian Tindall. \u00a0It tells the history of London through the story of one house that has existed for 450 years.<\/p>\n

We That Were Young<\/i> by Irene Rathbone. \u00a0I hadn’t heard of this before but it sounded interesting. \u00a0It is the semi-autobiographical account of the work of women during the first world war.<\/p>\n

There you have the seventeen books I bought in London. \u00a0I wish I lived there, not just because I love England but also because I love the book culture there. \u00a0I have said before that I am viewed as a bit of an oddity by many because of my love of books. There are not many bookshops near me unless you count Barnes and Noble. \u00a0Now, admittedly, I live in a small town in Connecticut and London is a big city but I have lived outside of Chicago as well and I still feel that maybe England has more of a literature-based culture. \u00a0I could be wrong but two different conversations I eavesdropped on made this point to me. (Tell me I am not the only one who is entertained by people watching and a bit of eavesdropping.) \u00a0The first conversation was when we were coming back from Greenwich on the train. \u00a0There was a group of businessmen sitting across from me and they were discussing Shakespeare’s tragedies. \u00a0 In detail. \u00a0Not just a passing reference to Hamlet or Macbeth but a detailed discussion of some of his lesser-known, to me, tragedies. \u00a0I have never had that happen in the US. \u00a0The second conversation was in Daunt Books. \u00a0A woman came in looking for a book recommendation. \u00a0The bookseller asked what she had enjoyed recently. \u00a0She mentioned a Barbara Pym novel. \u00a0He immediately recognized it, was able to discuss it with her, and then recommended an Elizabeth Taylor novel. \u00a0I am pretty sure that if I go into a bookstore near me neither the customers nor the booksellers are going to know who either of those authors is. \u00a0If you mentioned Elizabeth Taylor they would immediately think of the actress.<\/p>\n

So, I am curious, wherever you live, do you feel you have people who appreciate and understand books the way you do? \u00a0Do you have a lot of exciting bookshops near you? \u00a0And have you read any of my seventeen books?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London is a book shopping paradise. \u00a0I bought seventeen books while I was there and I could have easily doubled or tripled that number. \u00a0I had to restrain myself to one or two books per bookshop. \u00a0Yes, we went to a lot of bookshops. \u00a0My husband is a very patient man. Let’s start with the bookshop I absolutely was not going to miss. \u00a0Come hell or high water, I was going to Persephone Books. \u00a0I love this shop. \u00a0The books are pretty, the staff is friendly, and I have never bought a book there that I didn’t like. \u00a0Plus, there is a coffee shop conveniently next door for my husband. \u00a0This time I bought: The Priory by Dorothy Whipple. \u00a0I am slowly making my way through her books. \u00a0I buy one each time. \u00a0Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd. \u00a0I read a review of it somewhere. \u00a0It sounded funny and is set during WWII. \u00a0Just my type of thing. The Fortnight In September by RC Sherriff. I was having a hard time picking a third book (it is three books for 30 pounds or 12 pounds each, obviously I was going to buy three) when I overheard one of the staff raving about it on the phone with another indecisive customer. \u00a0Then, when I went to pay another member of the staff told me it was one of her absolute favorites. \u00a0I can’t wait to read it. Another charming bookshop full of books I didn’t even know I wanted. \u00a0Though, actually, the book I bought here is one I was looking for. \u00a0I bought A Notable Woman–The romantic journals of Jean Lucey Pratt, edited by Simon Garfield. \u00a0I have read all his diary compilations using sources from the Mass Observation Organization and greatly enjoyed them. \u00a0Jean Lucey Pratt was quoted extensively in some of his other volumes. \u00a0I am looking forward to getting to know her better. Daunt Books might possibly be the prettiest bookshop I have ever been in. \u00a0It is just gorgeous and full of equally amazing books. \u00a0I bought My Dear Bessie– A Love Story In Letters, also edited by Simon Garfield. \u00a0I heard excerpts of it read on the BBC with Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey playing the parts of Chris and Bessie. \u00a0I have wanted to read it ever since. Waterstones is a chain like Barnes and Noble is here except it puts Barnes and Noble to shame. \u00a0I can wander around Barnes and Noble and not find anything I really want to buy. \u00a0I think I want to live in Waterstones. \u00a0So many books I want, so hard to choose. \u00a0I bought The Other Elizabeth Taylor by Nicola Beauman. \u00a0It is published by Persephone Books and I just did a little Googling and Nicola Beauman is the founder of Persephone Books. \u00a0I didn’t realize that when I bought it, I just was happy I found an interesting book on the clearance rack for one pound. The Southbank Book Market is under Waterloo Bridge and I love it. There is something about browsing through row after row of books while being able to glance up and see the river and iconic London sites. \u00a0It makes my heart happy and somehow epitomizes London to me. \u00a0I also love how the noise and commotion of nearby street performers and crowds dies down under the bridge and you just have fellow book lovers meandering up and down the rows, fingers trailing over titles, barely glancing up to dodge around each other. \u00a0We went twice because the first time was late in the day and they were breaking down the tables and putting the books away. \u00a0I bought: A Family and a Fortune by Ivy Compton-Burnett. \u00a0I have read one other book by her and enjoyed it. Plus, she was mentioned extensively in the diaries of James Lees-Milne that I just read. Provincial Daughter by R.M. Dashwood. \u00a0I absolutely love the Provincial Lady series. \u00a0This is a continuation by her daughter. \u00a0It could be charming, it could drive me crazy. \u00a0We shall see. A London Girl of the 1880s \u00a0and A London Home in the 1890s, both by M.V. Hughes. \u00a0The first in this series is published by Persephone. \u00a0It was one of the books I kept dithering over in the shop. \u00a0When I found these I really wished I had bought it. \u00a0I snapped these up anyway and came home and found a copy of the first one online. This little shop in Hampstead was a bit insane. \u00a0It was packed with books and was so crowded with boxes and stacks of books you literally could not walk down some of the aisles. \u00a0I am sure there were lots more treasures in there but I could not see them. \u00a0I craned my neck and edged my way down as many aisles as I could but eventually had to give up. \u00a0I did buy two books- Don’t tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford and A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor. \u00a0I found the second one on this lovely shelf of orange Penguins. This bookshelf was right by the door and I saw it from the street. \u00a0It is what pulled me in. The last few books I found at various charity shops that I popped into as we went about our activities for the day. \u00a0I like the Oxfam bookshops. \u00a0They seem to have such a good selection. \u00a0I bought: My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. \u00a0I have only read one book by him. \u00a0Everyone else on earth seems to have read this. \u00a0I thought it was about time I did too. The Day We Went To War by Terry Charman. \u00a0My fascination with the home front during WWII is well documented on this blog. \u00a0I was pleased to find this. The Sleeping Beauty by Elizabeth Taylor. \u00a0I automatically buy her books whenever I find one I haven’t read. The House by the Thames and the People Who Lived There by Gillian Tindall. \u00a0It tells the history of London through the story of one house that has existed for 450 years. We That Were Young by Irene Rathbone. \u00a0I hadn’t heard of this before but it sounded interesting. \u00a0It is the semi-autobiographical account of the work of women during the first world war. There you have the seventeen books I bought in London. \u00a0I wish I lived there, not just because I love England but also because I love the book culture there. \u00a0I have said before that I am viewed as a bit of an oddity by many because of my love of books. There are not many bookshops near me unless you count Barnes and Noble. \u00a0Now, admittedly, I live in a small town in Connecticut and London is a big city but I have lived outside of Chicago as well and I still feel that maybe England has more of a literature-based culture. \u00a0I could be wrong but two different conversations I eavesdropped on made this point to me. (Tell me I am not the only one who is entertained by people watching and a bit of eavesdropping.) \u00a0The first conversation was when we were coming back from Greenwich on the train. \u00a0There was a group of businessmen sitting across from me and they were discussing Shakespeare’s tragedies. \u00a0 In detail. \u00a0Not just a passing reference to Hamlet or Macbeth but a detailed discussion of some of his lesser-known, to me, tragedies. \u00a0I have never had that happen in the US. \u00a0The second conversation was in Daunt Books. \u00a0A woman came in looking for a book recommendation. \u00a0The bookseller asked what she had enjoyed recently. \u00a0She mentioned a Barbara Pym novel. \u00a0He immediately recognized it, was able to discuss it with her, and then recommended an Elizabeth Taylor novel. \u00a0I am pretty sure that if I go into a bookstore near me neither the customers nor the booksellers are going to know who either of those authors is. \u00a0If you mentioned Elizabeth Taylor they would immediately think of the actress. So, I am curious, wherever you live, do you feel you have people who appreciate and understand books the way you do? \u00a0Do you have a lot of exciting bookshops near you? \u00a0And have you read any of my seventeen books?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-i-bought","category-london"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2847,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/2847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}